Series Title/AU: My Baby Brother is the Strongest Character
<<read the synopsis and content warnings first>>
featuring: Jake Kim, Samuel Seo
Existence is a funny thing.
Every human being has looked into the abyss at some point in their life. Most people, the more well-adjusted ones, learn that the best way to live is to remain distracted. Let’s face it, human life is but a drop in the ocean of time. Nothing lasts. And what’s the best way to deal with this knowledge? Why, it’s to keep oneself distracted. The distracted have fun. The distracted don’t fall into despair.
Others aren’t so lucky. The void calls out to them more loudly, more persistently: “Nothing matters. Everything dies. Stop trying. What’s the point?”
You like to think that you were good at keeping yourself distracted, or at the very least, you were good at faking it.
See, while isekai was a popular trope in your old reality, when one thinks about it, no sane person would think: “oh, I’ve transmigrated” or “I’ve been reborn in a parallel universe!”
You were far from the picture of a mentally healthy human, but it took years before you truly accepted that you reincarnated within a webcomic.
You didn’t look down on everyone for being “mere characters.” (Not consciously, anyway.) Your mind did not let you think that. Instead, the first thing you thought was: Am I even real?
After all, if this was your current reality, who’s to say that your first life wasn’t a TV show or a novel? Hell, what if it was a fanfic?
Then there was the fact that you actually knew the horrible things that could and would happen in this world.
So yeah. Lots of existential dread. Sometimes there’s even guilt.
Tweaking with the plot has its ups and downs. Perhaps the worst part about knowing the fates of the people here is that destiny always wins.
If you were going to reincarnate, then why didn’t God or whoever is in charge wipe your memory? Did they run out of Meng Po Soup when you crossed the river?[1]
Why give you the ability to see the future when you hold so little power to stop it?
You tried to protect and run away with Gun, but that didn’t work, and that bastard Charles Choi still has him on a leash.
Sure, you managed to prevent a few tragedies, but as anyone in the life-saving business knows, it’s the people you can’t save that you remember.
Thankfully, you already have experience in not being able to help everyone. When the abyss stares back at you, when the void makes you question what is real and what isn’t, when the guilt gnaws on your stomach, there is only one solution:
“Don’t think about it.”
You can’t save everyone, so you’re going to focus on your happiness.
As a former ER nurse, you knew better than to use the dreaded “Q” word during slow days.
But you were just a humble school nurse now, you were in the comfort of your own home, and it was quiet this morning.
When you woke up, there was no Gun busy at the stove and no Goo bothering him. There was, however, a fridge full of pre-cooked meals and a note on the kitchen island:
Onee-san,
Things have gotten hectic at work so I won’t be able to come home for a while. I made food for the whole week, but if you want to eat takeout, I left cash in the key bowl.
If you need me, just call.
Don’t stay out too late.
Don’t invite weird men over.
Seriously, call me if anything happens.
Gun.
You giggled after reading the message. Sometimes you wondered which one was the older sibling. You weren’t complaining though; you preferred this overprotective brother over the cold, cruel man from the manhwa.
You put omurice[2] in the oven and thought of what you can do to celebrate having the place all to yourself.
Who are you kidding?
The answer was obvious: reading romance novels, playing videogames and eating junk food!
Time flies when you’re just lazing around. When you looked up from the flat screen TV in the living room, it was already dark out.
You paused your game and when you got up to stretch, you accidentally stepped on an empty bag of chips. There was also a box of almond Pepero, several chocolate wrappers, a half-eaten pretzel, and more bags of chips.
If Gun were here, he would never let you hear the end of it.
You checked the time. It was already six.
You sent Gun a text and prepared for your evening walk.
***
Jake Kim needed to clear his mind. For that, he needed to be alone, so he told Jerry to eat without him.
As Jake wandered aimlessly around the city, he recalled Samuel’s words: “If you want to help Sinu, then you need to take them down.”
Those bastards took Sinu and destroyed him. They stripped him of his dignity and took away his memories.
Every time Jake closed his eyes, he was haunted by that room—the cell where they kept his friend captive for years. Sinu wrote everyone’s names on the walls, scribbled them again and again. Everyday, everywhere. He was desperate not to forget.
The Workers. Not even Samuel Seo, with all his money and information, could take those monsters down.
It has to be Big Deal. It has to be Jake who crushes them and rescues Sinu.
He breathed out.
He thought that walking would help him calm down and get his shit together, but now he was even more rattled.
“Hey, handsome, can I have your number?”
That line was so sudden, so ridiculous that Jake couldn't help but laugh. He turned around, smiling. “Sorry, lady, I—!”
It was you. The nurse from juvie and the woman who saved Jerry from choking to death.
Your eyes glinted with mischief. “Small world.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Sorry about earlier. You looked a little worried so I thought a pick-up line would cheer you up.”
“Well, you’re not wrong. What’re you doing in this neck of the woods? Did you just get off work?”
“No, it’s my day off today. I’m just out on a walk.”
“Same here.”
“Brilliant minds, as they say.” You winked. “Anyway, how have you been?”
He gave you a smile. “I’m doing great.”
You were silent for a moment, then you grinned back. “I see. That’s good to hear. I hope you and your friends are doing better now.”
“Oh, you bet. Jerry eats more slowly now. I don’t think he can look at fried chicken the same way again.”
“Fantastic, he should be more careful. You too. You guys are way too young to die.”
“Duly noted, noona.”
“Anyway, I hate to keep you. Take care, Jake.”
He should let you go. There was no need to drag you into his problems, but Jake didn’t want to say goodbye just yet.
He stepped forward. “Hey, do you…”
“Hm?”
“Do you wanna grab a drink?”
“Welcome to Big Deal Street. We don’t have a bar but this soup place has the best kimchi stew and it tastes great with soju.”
“Good ‘cause I was starting to get hungry.”
Jake guided you inside the restaurant, where Jerry was still eating. Big Deal’s second-in-command stopped when he saw the two of you.
“Boss Jake and—noonim!” Jerry rose to his feet to greet you with a bow.
You and Jake blurted out at the same time: “Please stop.”
All heads turned to you and then Jake was shielding you from his nosy men.
“Whoa, so she’s the one who saved Jerry?”
“She’s shorter than I expected.”
“I thought she’d be hotter.”
Jake yelled at them, “Knock it off!”
Yeonhui was locking up her shop when she heard the commotion. Naturally, she had to see what was happening. “What are you guys doing?”
Amidst the chaos, the two made eye contact and she gasped out your name. “Is it…is it really you?”
Jake looked at you but you seemed as confused as he was.
“I’m sorry,” you said, “do we know each other?”
One of the older girls appeared next to Yeonhui. When she saw you she gasped as well.
“I thought you'd never been to Big Deal,” Jake said.
“I haven’t, this is my…my first time here…” You trailed off, legs wobbling.
Jake caught your shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, just got light-headed for a second there. I guess I was hungrier than I thought.”
He turned to his crew. “You heard her. Two bowls of kimchi stew and extra rice!”
Before he could ask them to join, Yeonhui had disappeared with the other ladies.
Jake knew that he was the one who invited you, but he didn’t realize how much you could drink.
You slammed the glass down. “Another order of eel please! Oh, and soju!”
Jake grabbed the bottle before you could. “Uh, noona—”
“Don’t worry, it’s all on me.”
“No, that’s not the problem—but thanks—”
“Then drink! Here, I’ll pour one for you.”
You were usually so composed and reserved, Jake did not expect this; he wondered if this was what new employees felt like when their superior brought them to dinner.
You could probably drink Sinu Han under the table.
Five bottles later and you could barely count the bills in your purse, not that Jake was going to let you pay.
“Come back anytime, noonim!” The guys waved as you and Jake stepped out.
“You’re—hic—too tall,” you slurred as Jake slung your arm over his shoulder.
“Nothing I can do about that, I’m afraid. If I let go you’ll fall.”
“Nooo, don’t let me gooo, I-I can’t stand properly.”
“Yeesh, you really are drunk. Please tell me you don’t drink this much everyday.”
“I’ll have yoou… I’ll have you know this is—this is my first alco—alcoholic drink in ages…”
“Yes, you mentioned that earlier.”
“I’ve had a—a verrry ssstresssful month, ya know?”
“I heard the spiel a couple of times while you were downing soju by the liter.”
“I can’t do this, I wanna go home…I want some cheesy, potato chips.”
“You’re still hungry?”
“I told you I’ve had a—”
“—very stressful month. Right. I’ll take you home, but you need to give me your address.”
“That’s a good–hic—idea… where’s my phone?” You fished through your purse with one shaking arm. “Urgh, I think I’m gonna… gonna throw up.”
“Please don’t, I really like this suit.”
“Mmm…oh.” You blinked a few times and looked around. “I know this place. This is Big Deal Street. Man, I haven’t been here—hic—in ages!”
“You said you’ve never been here before.”
“I ssssaid that? Nah, not possi—uh—possible. I used to collect trash here when you were still a toddler, ya know!”
“???”
“I mean, maybe, I dunno.” You looked around, beaming. “Hey, where’s Yeonhui? And that damn brat Sinu? Did he finally—hic—confess?”
Jake stopped walking. “What?”
He carefully let go of your arm, moved in front of you. Crouching, he asked, “How do you know Yeonhui and Sinu?”
“Mm…” Hanging your head, you furiously rubbed your face.
“Noona—”
You raised your chin and your eyes widened. “Gapryong-nim?”
“!?”
“Holy shit—hic—you lost weight! My diet plan worked, huh? But how—how do you look younger? Did you finally—hic—did you finally q-quit sssssmoking?”
Your words were a bucket of ice water, sobering and freezing Jake still.
Too out of it to notice, you rambled, “Listen to me—it’s not my business, I know, I know—but you gotta stop foolin’ around. You need—you need to keep it in your pants ‘cause you can’t keep making kids and—hic—not taking care of ‘em! One of these days, those little brats will not be s…so little anymore—they’re gonna be a big problem, one might even kill you—wahahaha—oh, and s-speaking of that bastard, tell your son to stop hovering over me, okay? Sure he’s hot, but he’s too fucking big! I couldn’t walk for days ‘cause of that assss…hole…” you trailed off and then covered your mouth.
Then you ran to a nearby trashcan and threw up.
The sound of you vomiting brought Jake back to reality and he followed you. “Who are you?”
You looked at him, eyes glazing over, then you threw up again.
“Hey, just—”
Jake reached out for your back, but his arm was rudely smacked away by an unexpected interloper.
“Get lost,” Samuel Seo said, glaring at him. Draped in a fancy white suit, the guy looked out of place in these streets. Even weirder was how he was gently combing back the stray hairs away from your face.
“Where the hell did you come from?”
“None of your business.”
You finished heaving and stumbled backward, the back of your head hitting Samuel’s massive chest. “Who put a wall here? Oh…” You finally noticed the third party.
“I thought I was your only drinking partner, noona,” Samuel said. There was no trace of coldness in his voice as he offered you a bottle of water. “I’ll take you home.”
Samuel scooped you into his arms and you leaned into his neck.
“Sammy… m-my head hurts… I thin...I think I’m dying.”
“Don’t say that, noona. You’ll feel better once you get some rest.”
Samuel took a step forward and then sighed when Jake blocked his way.
“Move, asshole. Unless you wanna fight me and take this poor woman captive?”
“She knows my dad.”
“Let’s get a few things out of the way: she isn’t one of Gapryong Kim’s affair babies, and as you can probably guess, she’s not one of his mistresses. He sponsored her after she saved someone’s life. She has nothing to do with your father beyond that. She’s a civilian through and through, so don’t ever think about approaching her again.”
Once again, Jake was at a loss for words.
Samuel scoffed and left with you asleep in his arms.
Samuel was cooking breakfast on the stove, ignoring all of Goo Kim’s messages, when he heard your bedroom door click open.
“Gun?” you called out hoarsely. You staggered into the kitchen, sleep heavy in your eyes. “Sammy?”
“Hi noona. You should sleep some more. I’ll call you when breakfast is ready.” He focused on the eggs frying on the pan. “You kept calling and hanging up on me last night, I was really worried. It’s a good thing you have that GPS locator on your app, but still, if you wanted to drink I would’ve done it with you. I’d get you something better than soju—”
You stood beside him and tugged on the hem of his shirt. “You’re Sammy.”
Samuel turned off the heat. “Are you still drunk?” he teased.
“You found me.”
Samuel’s eyes widened—
“You don’t have to come back for me, noona. When I grow up, I’ll find you.”
—he turned towards you.
A trembling smile, a face ridden with guilt.
“Noona...”
“I’m sorry for forgetting. I didn’t mean to.”
“Please don’t cry.”
“But…but I—”
“It’s okay. I found you, didn’t I?” He pulled you into his arms. “I’ll always find you, noona.”
Crystal looked around her. Kouji was playing on his Switch and the three other geniuses here—DG, Gun Park and Goo Kim—were on their phones.
What was the point of holding an onsite meeting if everyone was glued to a screen?
Goo’s frenzied typing was so loud the tapping echoed in the conference room. He has been texting someone since the beginning of the meeting. “Dammit, Chest, answer me!”
Gun’s eyes were hidden behind his shades but he was clearly staring at his phone, as if waiting for a message or call. He resembled a sulking dog waiting for its master.
DG was also preoccupied. When Crystal entered the room, DG was already here, and she caught a glimpse of him looking at suits and tuxedos. She guessed that it might be research for another music video or event.
At least one of them was working.
[1] For those who are unfamiliar with the reference:
Meng Po Soup is from Chinese mythology. The goddess of forgetfulness, Meng Po, serves the soup to the souls on their way to reincarnation. The soup is supposed to wipe their memories so they can have a fresh start in their next incarnation.
The river here is just a general reference. Many cultures have a river associated with the afterlife.
[2] Omurice: Japanese. Literally omelette rice. When Gun serves it fresh, he draws random stuff on your omelette with ketchup.
Sometimes it's a simple heart, sometimes it's a bunny or a cat.
Author's Note: For anyone confused about the MBBITSC timeline, here is a brief summary.
a/n: random ass drabbles of what I think their kids wishlist?? Don't mind how it gets shorter cause I wrote this at 2 in the morning!
Goo's kid: (Daddy's Girl)
- Probs a whole jeep, you know those kids in the mall with their small lil jeep? Yeah that's gonna be her wishlist. Maybe she'll add a cute bike and roller skates cause you know she knows how rich her dad is.
Gun's kid: (Mama's boy)
- Easily a remote control vehicle toy things 😭✌️ like expensive collector type, this kid knows ball 🧚. He'll maybe add in some figurine that are hella expensive too.
Gitae's kid:(Dad's boy)
- hear me out, a doctor set or something medical toys idk gng but it js feels right??? (Probs will treat his parents as patients 🫡)
Jake's kid: (daddy's girl)
- She's very aware of her financial status so I feel like she'll be more on practical things like clothes but i think she'll add cooking sets (Gitae's kid and Jake's kid playing together gon be lit 🙏😻)
Seongji's kid:(Mommy's girl)
- yow I feel like she'll put chocolates like huge amounts of it and generally js sweets, maybe she'll also add cooking sets!
Jichang's kid(mama's boy)
- LEGOS OR ANYTHING VERY PUZZLY ya know like omg I can't 🤸
Jaegyeon's kid:(Mama's girl)
- I can't you not another collector except it's hot wheels and Lego cars or Lego flowers you cannot tell me otherwise 😦
Taesoo's kid:(Daddy's Girl)
- Slime or kinetic sand, I feel like she'll add it cause idk she likes sensory things 🌀
James's kid:(Mama's girl)
- expensive drawing materials/ a drawing tablet. Hear me out it's because of James's creativity in his career as an idol?
Hudson's kid:(Daddy's Girl)
- Stuff toys! (Squish mellows or any miniso stuff toys) !! Like pls I feel she'll love it until her adulthood 👽
Daniel's kid:(Mama's boy)
- a transformer car 🙏 it js feels right da helly??
Jay's kid: (Mama's boy)
- A bike and ofc some bike things like helmets of something???
Eli: (yenna)
- Fairy costume/a new wand, girly js wants to be a fairy 🧚
These are js if ever they're not...you know?: men below
Shintaro: (haruto)
- calligraphy materials idk why but it seems true????
You and Jake were best of friends. He was the big brother anyone could ever asked for. Playful, protective and caring. You cherished him for that, you never want to leave his side. Hell, you wanna be like him, strong and brave.
Little you were too stupid to understand the lack of paternal figure in your life. Because there is no need for that when you already have Jake who protects you from your curiosity over your father's deadbeat behavior. You never questioned it.
Until one day, your brother left without any explanation.
When Jake is no longer here to answer the questions for you, he ended up leaving more of them and had you pondered non-stop with the same sentence over and over again.
Where did oppa go?
Is oppa okay?
Is oppa alone?
Will oppa come back?
Is oppa ever coming back?
You never get any of them answered until now. Until you've grown into a young woman and still living under your mother's roof. She's now who your considered best friend. She's not Jake but she's the only person you have and now care about enough to stay.
You stopped asking her those questions, seemingly got tired of them so you kept your mouth shut.
Rumours spread fast. Your curiosity never left you. So you started snooping and eavesdrop in conversations, either involve you or not. Anything that may give away Jake's well-being.
Only then you find out that he had turned into a gangster. You asked yourself why. Was life so bad? He has everything, you and mom. What is he fighting for? What isn't enough?
"Mom." You stood by the living room, facing the floor. "Is it true? That Jake..."
"Don't waste your time thinking about your brother." Minseon gently cut you off and that's when you raised your head to face her. But she avoided your eyes, casually wiping the window.
"But..." Your hands gripped on the fabric of your attire. You want to know. You want to know so bad. Did he misses you? Did he ever think of coming home just to see you?
"Come, help me with this." As usual, your mother changed the topic to distract you. You have learned to accept that she's doing whatever she can to protect you. If not then, she just hates you bringing up whatever topic that may reminded her of the father you never met.
.
It's been years. You lost count. You continue to live your life normally. Make friends and study. You pushed away your past and got spend time most with your mother.
"C'mon, open it." You encouraged. Watching Minseon examined the velvet box and give you a weird look with a cocked brow before opening the it to reveal a jade bracelet.
She blinked then glanced at you skeptically, "Where did you get this?"
You rolled your eyes, "Why does it matter? Wear it! Here." You carefully put on the jewelry around her wrist. The gem caught the light as it shines flawlessly.
Minseon drop her wrist onto her lap and gave you a half scowling look "Don't mess with me. Where did you get it?"
You pouted, "I bought it of course."
"With what money?"
"I joined a business."
"At this age?"
"Stop underestimate me, mommy."
"Tch, I'm not. I'm just asking if you're stealing for a living by any chance."
You gently pushed her side, "Mom! How could you! I'm working hard for us, you know?"
Your mother who hardly react to your playful push let out a scoff, "I know, I know. I'm just asking. ...Or you have a secret boyfriend?"
"Omma!"
"Just wondering."
Life is perfect. Just you and mom.
.
"Like father like son. I guess blood really is fucking thinker than water." Minseon uttered, pouring tea into the cup while sitting across from Jake.
"Why are you so mad today?" He looked down at the drink before raising his head back.
"...How is (Name)?"
"Why don't you ask her that yourself?" She replied, glancing behind him. Jake followed her gaze, turning his head with widened eyes where you stood by the entrance.
Your froze. As shocked as him and neither of you moves.
He's here. Here here.
This is the first time you've seen Jake in forever. So much has changed. He's now taller, older. Are those scars on his face? Seems like the rumours are true. He really is a gangster.
Jake slowly gets up on his feet without breaking eye contact with you.
"...(Name)."
When your name escaped his mouth, you broke out of your trance. You shot him a glare before turned your back on him and abort your objective to go inside the house. Your foot stomp angrily onto the ground, your pace fastened as you hear Jake quickly chased after you.
"Wait! (Name)!"
You ignored him as you marched aimlessly into the neighborhood.
"(Name)! Please." Luckily his legs are longer as he effortlessly catches up to you and grabbed you by your wrist. Your swiftly avert his touch as if it burns.
"Don't touch me!"
He grumbled. "Where you even going?? Let's go back. It's dangerous."
You scoffed, "Oh right. And you aren't?"
"What are you talking about? You don't remember your own big brother?"
You stopped in your tracks but refuses to face him. Your arms crossed over your chest. "Brother? Hah! I have no brother. My brother left me years ago."
Guilt washes over him at your recollection. He couldn't deny the truth. He did on his own account so he didn't have to be like his father. It's almost funny how it quickly backfired. How can he escape his destiny anyway? Like mom said, blood thicker than water.
"Listen, I..." Jake exhaled heavily. "I can explain. Just give me a chance. I know we wasted a lot of years being apart. I have my reasons and I promised you. You have every right to hate me for it."
Your face flickered slightly, nearly exposed your vulnerability before you catch yourself.
That being said, the curiously never left you. Now that he's here, why not hear him out? What's the worst that could happen?
"Hmph." You turned back towards where home is without sparing him a glance. Jake's shoulders slumped but he took your reluctance as a good sign before follows you from behind.
Back at your mother's house, Jake and you stood by her garden as he explained himself A to Z. And throughout this process, you haven't showed any single emotions. You just listened without cutting him off.
"And...now I'm here." He finished. "Listen, I don't deserve your forgiveness, I know I messed up big times with you. And I think about it every single day."
"I think about you every single day."
He stopped closer, "You're still my baby sister. Except... you're not a baby anymore." He mustered a tiny smile, "You've grown taller, smarter and prettier."
"...I bet there's many guys that want to court you." He poked.
You brushed your hair off your shoulder sassily, "Sure they do! But they all didn't match up to my standards unfortunately."
"Yeah, I get that. Men sucks."
"That includes you." You snapped over the corner of your eyes.
His lips twitched into a smirk, "That includes me."
"Hmph! You didn't even think to pay a visit!"
"I did! But mom said you weren't home at that time, so." He scratched his neck. "But hey! I'm proud of you. You're studying and have your own legal business I heard! Man, I could never, haha..."
A beat passed.
"So, father..." You started hesitatingly. "He's so much worst than I anticipated."
Jake sighed, shifting his weight to his other leg. "Yeah, well. I learned to embrace his flaws. As much as he did us wrong, he never did to the others."
"Oh please. He prioritized strangers than his own family. And he called it 'romance'. Ugh." You gagged. "What a bunch of baloney."
"It does hurts." He admitted, glancing the green surrounds you. "I'm not here to change your mind about him."
"He was the absolutely worst piece of shit ever." You both said in sync before sharing a short laugh.
"C'mon," He jerked his head towards the house. "Let's go back inside. I still have to talk to mom. I have to ask her something."
Your slowly faced him, hands dropped to your sides. "Is it about him?"
"Yeah." He nodded, his expression turned serious. "You might want to hear this part too. Depends how interesting it'll get."
.
"About seven years older than you. Yes, Gapryong Kim have another son."
You and Jake's eyes turned wide, mouth slightly agape at the revelation from your mother.
If you haven't ask whether this could get any worse, now it just did.
Gapryong's son who lives in Mexico and works in a cartel. And Minseon just stopped there. Purposely gatekeeping you both by saying not to get involve. You surely won't. You don't want to. You don't even know what regular criminals are capable of and now she's talking about a literal cartel boss.
Your turned your head to looked at Jake who's still focus on mom, desperate to know more despite her gentle objections.
"If there's good side and evil side in Gapryong, then Jake, you are the good side. And that guy inherited the evil side."
.
"Are you...going to be okay?" You forced yourself to mutter once you both are alone once more. You have sworn yourself that you wouldn't show any concern for Jake but after today's event, it's hard not to. Because deep down you still love him. He's your brother after all.
"Don't worry about it." He shot you a grin. You frowned, "That's not very convincing. What if you get hurt?"
He tugged the stray hair behind your ear, "It won't be my first. And it won't be my last." You clasped your hand onto him before he could pull away. You missed this warmth. This assuring and protective warmth of his. You missed him. You missed your playtime together, you missed having dinner together, you missed just talking to him.
The thoughts makes your chest tightened and your eyes begins to water.
Jake's face fell, "Hey, hey..." He cupped your face. "It's okay. I'm here now. Don't cry. Hit me, if that makes you feel better."
You want to. You want to hit him and continue to yell at him but you already went pass that. You already got what you wanted. You got your answers and there's nothing more to ask for. Except his presence.
"It's not fair." You sniffled.
"I know it's not." He rested his forehead against yours. "I'm the asshole that broke your trust and I'm being an asshole for asking you to trust me again. It's so not fucking fair."
"Promise me you'll come home." You looked at him, desperate for affirmation that he will grant you this one wish.
"I promise." He said without a single doubting. "In one piece." He added. "And if you're free, I'll take you to see Big Deal. They would adore you."
He pulled you into a firm yet loving embrace. Your first hug in years. You immediately returned it, clinging onto him like he might disappear as you both stayed like that.
After some time he gave you a final squeeze before letting you go reluctantly. He squeeze your shoulders, patting them then dropping his hands awkwardly.
"I should go now. Take care of mom for me."
You nodded, "That's what I've been doing."
He grin, "I know you do." He pat your head before walking towards the open gate.
He turned one last time and wave at you while he walked sideways.
You wave back even while wearing that sad face of yours and mouthed,
"See you... oppa."
Jake paused. His face tightened as he forced a smile. Slowly he disappeared from the neighborhood.
.
Back at Big Deal.
"Jake! What happened?! Who hurt you?" Jerry exclaimed, watching Jake blowing his nose into another tissue. His tears continue to stream down as he sobs.
